Performance of a New Steelhead Line Derived from Hatchery Parents Collected in Autumn in the Grande Ronde River Lance Clarke, Michael Flesher, Shelby Warren, and Richard Carmichael Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Wallowa Stock Steelhead Wallowa Hatchery Joseph La Grande Union Troy

Wallowa Hatchery Broodstock Stock founded from adults collected in spring at Ice Harbor (1976) and Little Goose (1977 & 1978) dams Current broodstock sourced from spring returns to hatchery Substantial fishery in Grande Ronde basin from Sept.−April Stock founded from adults collected in spring at Ice Harbor (1976) and Little Goose (1977 & 1978) dams Current broodstock sourced from spring returns to hatchery Substantial fishery in Grande Ronde basin from Sept.−April

Snake River Hatchery Steelhead Stocks Lyons Ferry Dworshak B Sawtooth Pahsimeroi Hells Canyon Imnaha Wallowa Deschutes River basin

Dworshak B 0 Hells Canyon Imnaha Lyon’s Ferry Pahsimeroi Sawtooth Wallowa Average Annual Deschutes River Straying By % STRAY RATE Snake River Hatchery Steelhead Stocks HATCHERY PROGRAM (Based on Years of Data) Error bars = 1 SE

Objectives Create a new hatchery line from Wallowa stock returning to Grande Ronde in autumn.  Autumn Line may stray less and improve the autumn fishery. Create a new hatchery line from Wallowa stock returning to Grande Ronde in autumn.  Autumn Line may stray less and improve the autumn fishery. Compare performance of Autumn Line with the standard Wallowa Stock.  Is smolt outmigration survival similar?  Does the Autumn Line return earlier?  Are smolt-to-adult survival rates similar?  Does the Autumn Line stray at a lower rate?  Are contributions to fisheries different?

Upon landing, anglers placed hatchery fish in a tube –Oriented fish into flow, held up to 24 h –Fish PIT-tagged, transferred to Wallowa Hatchery, held for spawning Upon landing, anglers placed hatchery fish in a tube –Oriented fish into flow, held up to 24 h –Fish PIT-tagged, transferred to Wallowa Hatchery, held for spawning Broodstock Collection and Handling (Brood Years 2004 − 2007)

Acclimation Ponds

Juvenile Steelhead Releases  Coded wire tags were implanted into 100K of Autumn Line and Standard Line juveniles for estimating stray rates. Brood Year Number PIT tagged Autumn St andard 20043,7773, ,5673, ,5673, ,5586,914 Gen- eration F1F F2F2 3,5995,203 Number Released Autumn Standard 170K 373K 277K 308K 221K 258K 140K 345K 129K 241K F1F1 F1F1 F1F1

Survival (± CI) AutumnStandard (2.1) 77 (3.0) (6.6) 74 (5.3) (22.3)78 (41.0) (19.3) 84 (13.5) 77%79% Averages 23.5 (7.0) 21.6 (11.5) 30.8 (6.7) 31.3 (11.3) AutumnStandard 23.8 (7.6) 22.4 (10.8) 30.1 (8.7) 33.1 (12.9) Brood Year % Outmigration Travel Time (d; ± SD) Juvenile Performance (4.8) 80 (3.9) 18.3 (9.7) 17.3 (11.2)

Average Adult Steelhead Return Timing McNary Lower Granite MONTH PERCENT RECOVERED Bonneville AUTUMN LINE STANDARD STOCK Average Adult Steelhead Return Timing F1 Generation, (BY ) June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Aug. 5 Aug. 14 Aug. 31 Sept. 24 Sept. 11 Oct. 6

Smolt-to-Adult Survival to Bonneville Dam BROOD YEAR PERCENT SURVIVAL Autumn line, F 1 generation Standard stock Autumn line, F 2 generation (significantly different, P = 0.004)

BROOD YEAR Smolt-to-Adult Survival to Lower Granite Dam (significantly different, P < 0.001) PERCENT SURVIVAL Autumn line, F1 generation Standard stock Autumn line, F2 generation

BROOD YEAR % 1-OCEAN ADULTS Age At Return Standard stock (P = ) Autumn line, F 1 generation

% STRAY RATE INDEX BROOD YEAR Percent of Steelhead that Strayed Autumn line, F 1 generation Standard stock %76.0%47.0%41.0% And the Percent of Barged Fish Incomplete Data

Kilometers Mouth (RK 0) Pelton Trap (RK 161) Sherars Falls (RK 69) Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery (RK 154) S p r i n g s W a r m R i v e r D e s c h u t e s R i v e r COLUMBIA RIVER Deschutes River Basin FB SP % RECOVERED ABOVE RK 69 % TRAP RECOVERIES Before Feb. 1 SP Total FB SP

Run Year Experimental Group Number Detected at Sherars Falls Number Later Detected at McNary or Above Percent Later Detected at McNary or Above Autumn Line 50 0 Standard Stock Autumn Line 6117 Standard Stock Autumn Line19421 Standard Stock Autumn Line 5240 Standard Stock 50 0 Total Autumn Line35720 Total Standard Stock30723 PIT Tag Detections in Deschutes and at McNary

Compensation Plan Fisheries

SeptOctNovDecJanFeb MarApr PERCENT OF TOTAL HARVEST Lower Grande Ronde Autumn line Standard stock Harvest Timing in the Grande Ronde Basin MONTH Wallowa (run years to )

SeptOctNovDecJanFebMarApril MONTH Autumn line Standard stock Harvest in the Compensation Area Error bars = 1 SE No. HARVESTED /1,000 SMOLTS

Average BROOD YEAR No. HARVESTED /1,000 SMOLTS Autumn Line In Oregon Autumn Line Outside Oregon Standard stock Outside Oregon Standard stock In Oregon Harvest Contribution in the Compensation Area

Conclusions Autumn Line F 1 adults pass Lower Granite Dam earlier, provide increased autumn fishing opportunities in Grande Ronde River.  Will F 2 and subsequent generations continue to return earlier? Greater Autumn Line survival to adulthood.  Is it just because they return at an earlier ocean age?  Will the trend continue? No apparent straying benefit to Autumn Line.  Will stray rates remain low for all release groups?  Are there other broodstock, rearing, or release strategies that can be used to reduce straying. Autumn Line F 1 adults pass Lower Granite Dam earlier, provide increased autumn fishing opportunities in Grande Ronde River.  Will F 2 and subsequent generations continue to return earlier? Greater Autumn Line survival to adulthood.  Is it just because they return at an earlier ocean age?  Will the trend continue? No apparent straying benefit to Autumn Line.  Will stray rates remain low for all release groups?  Are there other broodstock, rearing, or release strategies that can be used to reduce straying.

Future Plans for the Autumn Line 1.Brood Year 2012: Increase smolt production to 240,000 smolts (30% of entire Wallowa stock production). Maintain current marking and tagging to assess whether F 3 generation performs similarly to F 1 generation. 2.Brood Year 2013 and beyond: Increase Autumn Line production to 320,000 smolts in BY 2013, 400,000 smolts in BY  Releasing both lines would benefit autumn and spring fishing periods, provided future generations perform similarly to the F 1 generation.  Autumn Line may require occasional refreshing with new broodstock collected via angling in the Grande Ronde in autumn.  During this time, straying information from F 1 and F 2 generations will continue to be collected and assessed.  The ability of the hatchery to concurrently spawn, rear, and release Autumn Line and standard production groups (each consisting of 400,000 smolts) will impact future decisions.

Acknowledgements Many thanks to the 192 anglers and volunteers for: –7,000 hours –111,000 miles of travel –2500 meals served ODFW Wallowa Hatchery and NE Region fish liberation staff Rick Madigan – Wenaha Wildlife Area Volunteers from local state and tribal agencies Many thanks to the 192 anglers and volunteers for: –7,000 hours –111,000 miles of travel –2500 meals served ODFW Wallowa Hatchery and NE Region fish liberation staff Rick Madigan – Wenaha Wildlife Area Volunteers from local state and tribal agencies